Difference between revisions of "Tunneler"

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(→‎As an ally in combat: help rearr. things into not 1 giant paragraph)
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=== As an ally in combat ===
 
=== As an ally in combat ===
Tunnelers are incredibly slow, with middling {{DPS}} and a decent durability.  
+
Tunnelers are incredibly slow, with middling {{DPS}} and a decent durability. They have 152% the health of a human, armor slightly worse than normal [[recon armor]], and an innate shield better than a ''legendary'' [[shield belt]]. While they won't deal as much damage compared to a dedicated melee pawn, nor able to run or lock down enemies like a scyther, tunnelers can draw enemy fire. This lets other combatants focus on dealing damage.
  
Compared to [[scyther]]s, with whom tunnelers share a research tier, they are incredibly slow and consume one more bandwidth. They also significantly more durable due to their significantly higher armor (slightly worse than normal [[recon armor]]), slightly higher health scale, and an innate shield better than a ''legendary'' [[shield belt]]. Their {{Hover title|I.e. DPS after accounting for the melee verb system but without considering the target's attributes|base true DPS}} of 7.59 (4.71 after [[Melee Hit Chance]]) seems low at only {{%|7.59/10}} of the 10 (6.2 after Melee Hit Chance) of the scyther, however using [[Damage Types#Blunt|Blunt]] damage means that the tunneler's attacks face far less armor than the scyther's. Against a normal [[flak vest]], the tunneler faces almost no DPS loss at all, while the scyther's DPS is more than halved. Against [[centipede]]s, the scyther is reduced to 70% of their DPS while the tunneler's {{AP}} totally negates their blunt armor. Thus, while the scyther does still provide superior DPS against most enemies, their damage output is far closer than it first appears. Blunt damage's superior damage propagation and overkill mechanics further help narrow the gap against enemies with health scales comparable to humans.
+
Tunnelers face competition from [[scyther]]s, a melee-focused mech also unlocked from [[Research#Standard mechtech|Standard Mechtech]]. Tunnelers don't have a scyther's speed, and consume +1 [[bandwidth]]. However, they are significantly more durable, with significantly more armor, slightly higher health, and the aformentioned shield. The tunneler's {{Hover title|I.e. DPS after accounting for the melee verb system but without considering the target's attributes|base true DPS}} of 7.59 (4.71 after [[Melee Hit Chance]]) seems low at only {{%|7.59/10}} of the 10 (6.2 after Melee Hit Chance) of the scyther. However, tunnelers use [[Damage Types#Blunt|Blunt]] damage. Blunt attacks usually face far less armor than a scyther's Sharp blades.
 
+
*Against a normal [[flak vest]], the tunneler faces almost no DPS loss at all, while the scyther's DPS is more than halved.
This makes them an excellent tank throughout most of the game. While they won't deal as much damage compared to a dedicated melee pawn, nor run or lock down enemies with minimal risk like a scyther, they can draw enemy fire and let your colonists or other mechs focus on dealing damage. If their durability is not needed, such as when using [[Psycasts#Skip|Skip psycast]] {{RoyaltyIcon}} mobbing tactics, scythers with their lower bandwidth cost are the superior melee mechanoid.
+
*Against [[centipede]]s, the scyther is reduced to 70% of their DPS, while the tunneler's {{AP}} totally negates their blunt armor.
 +
So, while the scyther still has superior DPS against most enemies, their damage output is far closer than it first appears. Blunt damage's superior damage propagation and overkill mechanics further help narrow the gap against enemies with health scales comparable to humans. If durability is completely irrelevant, such as when using [[Psycasts#Skip|Skip psycast]] {{RoyaltyIcon}} mobbing tactics, then scythers are superior due to their lower bandwidth cost.
  
 
[[Centipede]]s have {{%|{{Q|Centipede|Health Scale}}/{{P|Health Scale}} round 2}} the health scale and thus {{HP}} of the tunneler, and slightly worse armor (Sharp: {{Q|Centipede|Armor - Sharp}}% Blunt: {{Q|Centipede|Armor - Blunt}}%) and no shield belt. They also have 86% of the {{Hover title|I.e. DPS after accounting for the melee verb system but without considering the target's attributes|base true DPS}}, cost 1 more bandwidth, and are unlocked at [[Research#{{Q|Centipede gunner|Required Research}}|{{Q|Centipede gunner|Required Research}}]]. For the sole purpose of tanking against melee enemies, the centipede is almost always better{{Check Tag|Verify|Increasing melee tank DPS can result in lowered enemy DPS due to injuries and significantly improves melee tank lifespans. 16% extra DPS and slightly better armor is probably not enough to overcome 2.9x the HP but needs in-game testing against common enemy types to confirm}} if they can be afforded, but their lower DPS and lack of shield can be detrimental against mixed-range enemies when tied up in melee and unable to fire. Additionally, their ranged weaponry make them even more flexible.
 
[[Centipede]]s have {{%|{{Q|Centipede|Health Scale}}/{{P|Health Scale}} round 2}} the health scale and thus {{HP}} of the tunneler, and slightly worse armor (Sharp: {{Q|Centipede|Armor - Sharp}}% Blunt: {{Q|Centipede|Armor - Blunt}}%) and no shield belt. They also have 86% of the {{Hover title|I.e. DPS after accounting for the melee verb system but without considering the target's attributes|base true DPS}}, cost 1 more bandwidth, and are unlocked at [[Research#{{Q|Centipede gunner|Required Research}}|{{Q|Centipede gunner|Required Research}}]]. For the sole purpose of tanking against melee enemies, the centipede is almost always better{{Check Tag|Verify|Increasing melee tank DPS can result in lowered enemy DPS due to injuries and significantly improves melee tank lifespans. 16% extra DPS and slightly better armor is probably not enough to overcome 2.9x the HP but needs in-game testing against common enemy types to confirm}} if they can be afforded, but their lower DPS and lack of shield can be detrimental against mixed-range enemies when tied up in melee and unable to fire. Additionally, their ranged weaponry make them even more flexible.

Revision as of 15:07, 3 January 2023

Tunneler

Tunneler

A heavy mechanoid built for mining in treacherous locations. While intended for excavation, the tunneler's gigantic power claws and ultra-thick armor makes it a dangerous force in combat.

Base Stats

Type
Mechanoid
Market Value
1200 Silver
Flammability
0%

Armor

Armor - Sharp
80%
Armor - Blunt
40%
Armor - Heat
200%

Pawn Stats

Move Speed
1.9 c/s
Health Scale
150% HP
Body Size
3.5
Mass
210 kg
Pack Capacity
122.5 kg
Carrying Capacity
263 kg
Filth Rate
1
Comfortable Temp Range
-100 °C – 250 °C (-148 °F – 482 °F)

Melee Combat

Attack 1
Left power claw
22 dmg (Blunt)
33 % AP
2.9 second cooldown
Attack 2
Right power claw
22 dmg (Blunt)
33 % AP
2.9 second cooldown
Average DPS
4.7

Creation

Crafted At
Mech gestator
Required Research
Standard mechtech
Resources to make
Steel 150 + Plasteel 75 + Component 4 + Standard subcore 1

A tunneler is a mechanoid added by the Biotech DLC.

Summary

As mechanoids, every tunneler is immune to fire, Flame and Heat damage, and temperature extremes, despite having Comfortable Temperatures defined. They have 100% Toxic Resistance and Toxic Environment Resistance, making them immune to toxic buildup, rot stink and other toxic effects. They do not need to eat, rest, and have no mood. They will be stunned by EMP attacks for a time proportional to the EMP damage inflicted and will "adapt" and rendered immune to further EMP strikes for 2,200 ticks (36.67 secs).

Tunnelers do not seem to spawn in regular mech raids, crashed ship parts, or mech clustersContent added by the Royalty DLC.[Verify] However, they appear as part of certain apocriton summon groups.

Work

Tunnelers are a heavy mechanoid, and require Standard Mechtech to create. Mechs in general count as a partial pawn in terms of raid points, and still contribute towards wealth.

They are created from a large mech gestator with Steel 150 Steel, Plasteel 75 Plasteel, Component 4 Components, Standard subcore 1 Standard subcore, taking up 3 bandwidth from a mechanitor. They must gestate for 4 cycles to be made. Once made, they recharge in a large mech recharger (50% power/day), creating 15 wastepacks whenever the recharger's waste is filled up.

Tunnelers will do tasks associated with the Mining tab, though are unable to use deep drills. They cannot be manually controlled, except when drafted for combat. They have an effective Mining skill of 10, but with a Global Work Speed of 150%.

Combat

In combat, tunnelers have a shield (equivalent to a shield belt) of 250 power. They can also emit smoke, though with a cooldown of 15 days. They have a melee attack. Its weakness is that each time it takes damage, it slows for a few seconds[Detail needed] - this means that when tunnelers attack you, even if you can’t kill them quickly, you can intelligently kite them by falling back from your position to escape the blocking smoke, maintain distance and slowly whittle the tunnelers down.

Analysis

Tunnelers are useful for mass mining operations, whether it is expanding out your mountain base or mining mineral lumps found using a long-range mineral scanner. Mechanoids are not subject to illness or mental breaks, and only recharge for 2 days out of every 12.

Work Speed

The following table summarizes the work speed effects of operating within the influence of a mech booster and having control sublinks installed by the Mechanitor. All values are for 50%+ lighting conditions.

Control Sublinks Work Speed Mech Boosted
0 150% 225%
1 156% 231%
2 162% 237%
3 168% 243%
4 174% 249%
5 180% 255%
6 186% 261%

A colonist's work speed is based on their Mining Speed stat. At about skill 13, a normal colonist with no traits or health conditions will mine as fast as a tunneler operating without a Mech Booster or Sublink bonus. A similar colonist at skill 18 mines roughly 97% as fast a mech-boosted Tunneler with no Sublink bonuses. Installing a Drill arm allows a Skill 5 pawn to mine faster than an unboosted Tunneler.[Mining Specialist?]

Mining Yield

Tunnelers appear to have no special modifiers to Mining Yield, meaning that they function identically to a Skill 10 Colonist for this purpose. Higher skilled colonists will extract more material, but the increase isn't very large until very high skill levels. For comparison, a healthy, level 20 human miner has the maximum possible mining yield of 113% compared to the 102% of the tunneler. For maximum resources, leave ores for higher skill colonists, if present, to mine. However, it may be more useful to get a place dug out now then to get a little more ore.

Conversely, a lower mining yield will slightly lower the amount of stone chunks that have to be hauled out of a mountain base. The difference is too small to notice, either way.

As an ally in combat

Tunnelers are incredibly slow, with middling DPS and a decent durability. They have 152% the health of a human, armor slightly worse than normal recon armor, and an innate shield better than a legendary shield belt. While they won't deal as much damage compared to a dedicated melee pawn, nor able to run or lock down enemies like a scyther, tunnelers can draw enemy fire. This lets other combatants focus on dealing damage.

Tunnelers face competition from scythers, a melee-focused mech also unlocked from Standard Mechtech. Tunnelers don't have a scyther's speed, and consume +1 bandwidth. However, they are significantly more durable, with significantly more armor, slightly higher health, and the aformentioned shield. The tunneler's base true DPS of 7.59 (4.71 after Melee Hit Chance) seems low at only 75.9% of the 10 (6.2 after Melee Hit Chance) of the scyther. However, tunnelers use Blunt damage. Blunt attacks usually face far less armor than a scyther's Sharp blades.

  • Against a normal flak vest, the tunneler faces almost no DPS loss at all, while the scyther's DPS is more than halved.
  • Against centipedes, the scyther is reduced to 70% of their DPS, while the tunneler's AP totally negates their blunt armor.

So, while the scyther still has superior DPS against most enemies, their damage output is far closer than it first appears. Blunt damage's superior damage propagation and overkill mechanics further help narrow the gap against enemies with health scales comparable to humans. If durability is completely irrelevant, such as when using Skip psycast Content added by the Royalty DLC mobbing tactics, then scythers are superior due to their lower bandwidth cost.

Centipedes have 288% the health scale and thus HP of the tunneler, and slightly worse armor (Sharp: 72% Blunt: 22%) and no shield belt. They also have 86% of the base true DPS, cost 1 more bandwidth, and are unlocked at High mechtech. For the sole purpose of tanking against melee enemies, the centipede is almost always better[Verify] if they can be afforded, but their lower DPS and lack of shield can be detrimental against mixed-range enemies when tied up in melee and unable to fire. Additionally, their ranged weaponry make them even more flexible.

Health

Specify body type when known.


Body part Health
Head 38
Skull 38
Brain 15
Nose 15
Neck 38
Jaw 30
Eye [1]
(left, right)
15
Ear
(left, right)
15
Body 60
Kidney[2]
(left, right)
23
Lung[2]
(left, right)
23
Liver[2] 30
Heart[2] 23
Spine[2] 38
Stomach[2] 30
Limbs
(left, right, fore, hind)
45
Appendage
(left, right, fore, hind)
30
  1. Located inside of Head.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Located inside of Body.

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